Real world experiences with rooster to hen ratios 18 to 2?

[Echelontheory101]

but those white leghorns were mean as heck to any other type of chicken

I have an exchequer leghorn and shes such a b1tch to the other chickens as well but absolutely LOVES me haha must be a leghorn thing!

 

[Mrs. K]

Awesome thank you! It sounds like my plan should be just see how it goes and go from there then

Cockerels are a crap shoot, sometimes it will work, sometimes it won't. Sometimes you will raise up a couple of roosters and they all turn out rather grand, and sometimes NONE of them will work.

There really is no set of rules such as: "if you do this, then you will get that" when it comes to cockerels.

Personally I would not add cockerels unless I could process cockerels. It really is not a ratio or number deal - it is the luck of the draw.

I will mention, that three summers I raised up a pair of cockerels in a multi-generational flock of 14 head. I really had no need for two roosters, but it seemed to be working well, and I did nothing about it.

But about late summer, I had a friend who needed a rooster and I gladly gave her one of mine. Thing is, there was a tension in the flock that I was not even aware of until it was gone. It was quite noticeable. So be aware.

Do also know that one never really gets a perfect flock, one must add and subtract birds from the flock as it goes. This goes for roosters too. Just because he is eye candy, or has a special color egg gene...well that will not make up for him being rotten to people or hens.

Mrs K

 

[Echelontheory101]

Cockerels are a crap shoot, sometimes it will work, sometimes it won't. Sometimes you will raise up a couple of roosters and they all turn out rather grand, and sometimes NONE of them will work.

There really is no set of rules such as: "if you do this, then you will get that" when it comes to cockerels.

Personally I would not add cockerels unless I could process cockerels. It really is not a ratio or number deal - it is the luck of the draw.

I will mention, that three summers I raised up a pair of cockerels in a multi-generational flock of 14 head. I really had no need for two roosters, but it seemed to be working well, and I did nothing about it.

But about late summer, I had a friend who needed a rooster and I gladly gave her one of mine. Thing is, there was a tension in the flock that I was not even aware of until it was gone. It was quite noticeable. So be aware.

Do also know that one never really gets a perfect flock, one must add and subtract birds from the flock as it goes. This goes for roosters too. Just because he is eye candy, or has a special color egg gene...well that will not make up for him being rotten to people or hens.

Mrs K

Totally! Processing animals for meat is not new to me at all I have almost 2 decades of experience with processing, so wouldnt keep any bullies hen or rooster. Hopefully out of 3 males, I end up with atleast one that isnt a complete A-hole if not they'll just be very expensive chicken pot pie but crossing my fingers and toes that I wont have to try again immediately after haha but also plan to make flock changes adds/subtracts biannually or as needed

 

[Echelontheory101]

Thing is, there was a tension in the flock that I was not even aware of until it was gone. It was quite noticeable. So be aware.

This is really good to know! Will definitely have to do some experimenting

 

[FunClucks]

This is almost exactly my plan after next year too numbers wise too! because by then I'll have my rooster in the breed I want and all of the different hen breeds that I want and plan to then just hatch biannually moving forward, process as meat the extra roos or the hens that have traits I don't want to carry forward for a multi generational flock. Im thinking biannually because I don't want to constantly be destabilizing the flock and the pecking order. Do you do additions every year this way with all the extra roos and whatnot and if so do you find you have issues with that?

I hatch whenever I want to really - sometimes it's a couple times a year, sometimes its once or less. Depends what my goals are and the time I have available. Sometimes I'm letting a broody hen raise me some meat birds. Sometimes I'm raising eggers to sell. Sometimes I'm experimenting with egg color genetics. In any case, whatever birds don't meet my goals get rehomed or eaten as soon as possible. Pecking order destabilization is not that much of an issue IMO - I mean it happens, but they get over it pretty quickly. I think it's good for them to have non-life-threatening excitement in their lives, and this is one way they get it.

The only times I try to make sure my flock size is as small as possible and the flock is the most stress free is going into winter. Several months of winter where they huddle on the roost in the cold is really stressful on them - that's the time we get the most feather picking or other stress behaviors. I find minimizing flock size prior to winter helps decrease the stress over those few cold months.

 

[Echelontheory101]

I hatch whenever I want to really - sometimes it's a couple times a year, sometimes its once or less. Depends what my goals are and the time I have available. Sometimes I'm letting a broody hen raise me some meat birds. Sometimes I'm raising eggers to sell. Sometimes I'm experimenting with egg color genetics. In any case, whatever birds don't meet my goals get rehomed or eaten as soon as possible. Pecking order destabilization is not that much of an issue IMO - I mean it happens, but they get over it pretty quickly. I think it's good for them to have non-life-threatening excitement in their lives, and this is one way they get it.

The only times I try to make sure my flock size is as small as possible and the flock is the most stress free is going into winter. Several months of winter where they huddle on the roost in the cold is really stressful on them - that's the time we get the most feather picking or other stress behaviors. I find minimizing flock size prior to winter helps decrease the stress over those few cold months.

Awesome thank you!

 

[Mrs. K]

The only times I try to make sure my flock size is as small as possible and the flock is the most stress free is going into winter.

THIS ^^^^^

One can cheat in the summer - the days are long, the chicks are little, but come the fall, one needs to subtract from the flock, so that it fits in the coop. Right now, mine are roosting up close to 4:00. That is a long time to be over crowded.

I too, think that if you add and therefore subtract fairly regularly - you r flock does better with new birds.

Mrs K

 

[Echelontheory101]

THIS ^^^^^

One can cheat in the summer - the days are long, the chicks are little, but come the fall, one needs to subtract from the flock, so that it fits in the coop. Right now, mine are roosting up close to 4:00. That is a long time to be over crowded.

I too, think that if you add and therefore subtract fairly regularly - you r flock does better with new birds.

Mrs K

Yep thats the plan!